The United Nations Security Council held its first assembly on artificial intelligence on Tuesday the place China stated the know-how mustn’t grow to be a “runaway horse” and the United States warned in opposition to its use to censor or repress individuals.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who chaired the assembly underneath Britain’s July presidency of the physique, stated AI will “fundamentally alter every aspect of human life.”

“We urgently need to shape the global governance of transformative technologies because AI knows no borders,” he added after saying that AI may assist handle local weather change and increase economies. But he additionally warned that the know-how fuels disinformation and will support each state and non-state actors in a quest for weapons.

The 15-member council was briefed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jack Clark, co-founder of high-profile AI startup Anthropic, and Professor Zeng Yi, co-director of the China-UK Research Center for AI Ethics and Governance.

“Both military and non-military applications of AI could have very serious consequences for global peace and security,” Guterres stated.

Guterres backs calls by some states for the creation of a brand new U.N. physique “to support collective efforts to govern this extraordinary technology,” modeled on the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun described AI as a “double-edged sword” and stated Beijing helps a central coordinating function of the U.N. on establishing guiding rules for AI.

“Whether it is good or bad, good or evil, depends on how mankind utilizes it, regulates it and how we balance scientific development with security,” Zhang stated, including that there needs to be a give attention to individuals and AI for good to manage growth and to “prevent this technology from becoming a runaway horse.”

Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Jeffrey DeLaurentis, additionally stated there was a necessity for nations to additionally work collectively on AI and different rising applied sciences to deal with human rights dangers that threaten to undermine peace and safety.

“No member states should use AI to censor, constrain, repress or disempower people,” he informed the council.

Russia questioned whether or not the council, which is charged with sustaining worldwide peace and safety, needs to be discussing AI.

“What is necessary is a professional, scientific, expertise-based discussion that can take several years and this discussion is already underway at specialized platforms,” stated Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy.